2024 is slowly turning out to be the year of milestones for iQoo. The company completed its four-year operations in India in April, while a few weeks back, iQoo Connect, the official community of the brand, reached one million members. This feat is nothing less than a milestone for a brand that has not even touched five years of operations. As a smartphone manufacturer known to launch fewer devices in a year, iQoo is slowly leaving that impression and is looking to expand its portfolio calculatively.
This year, we have already seen the launch of the iQoo Neo 9 Pro, Z9, Z9 Lite, and Z9x smartphones. Now, iQoo is all set to expand the Z-series further with the launch of Z9s. Ahead of the big launch, Nipun Marya, CEO of iQoo India, sat for an exclusive chat with Gadgets 360 to talk about all the actions that are happening at the moment.
Four years in India: The journey and challenges
Of course, the first question had to be about the journey of the brand and the challenges. iQoo has left a mark in the smartphone industry in just four years. Mind you, iQoo 12 won the Best Gaming Smartphone title at our NDTV Gadgets 360 2024 awards.
iQoo 12 launched in India late last year
Marya, on the brand's journey, "The last four years certainly have been challenging, but more than challenging, they have been rewarding. As a brand, we have learned so much about ourselves, our consumers, and the Indian market. As a result of whatever we learnt - the business has also grown strongly and steadily, which is encouraging. So, quantitatively, we have been continuously growing our market share on Amazon and getting very good ratings and reviews. The good thing is we have so many iQoo devices that are top-sellers on Amazon. All these are very exciting and, at the same time, rewarding. And, not just this, if we look at the love we have received from our consumers over the last four years. Our community is one of our very important pillars of support and love."
When asked about iQoo Connect, he said, "We recently crossed one million iQoo community members, and they are also people who guide us, help us, and challenge us many times. So, the last four years have been extremely rewarding. Because when we set out four years back, of course, there was a speed bump considering Covid. I think we are very confident about the way the brand is progressing."
It was a good time to ask about Marya's favourite iQoo device in the portfolio. Well, he didn't respond with a diplomatic answer and was upfront that the iQoo 12 was his favourite pick in the entire portfolio.
iQoo Z9s launch and beyond
Now that we are done with history, let's talk about what's in store this month - the Z9s series. Marya exclusively confirmed to Gadgets 360 in July the launch timeline of the Z9s series along with the names of the devices - iQoo Z9s and Z9s Pro.
Talking about the phones, Marya said, "The iQoo Z9s series launch is a very exciting one for us because rarely has it happened that we launch multiple products simultaneously. And it has never happened in the Z-series. We will have Z9s and Z9s Pro - two products in the line-up."
"And, I can tell you that if you name any aspect of a phone in this particular price bracket or competition of Z9s or Z9s Pro - you'll certainly believe these stand through the DNA of iQoo, which is you can expect the best performance, excellent cameras, and exceptional build quality. I certainly believe that Z9s and Z9s Pro are going to really redefine the segment," he added.
iQoo Z9s series colour teased ahead of the launch
Further talking about the 2024 roadmap, Marya added that Z9s and Z9s Pro are the next launches in the second half of 2024. "These two are very solid products, you'll see that the audience will be talking about these devices. This portfolio will be very strong; therefore, the key reason for the audience's excitement when it comes to iQoo will be if you want to buy a phone in a particular price segment - if that's your question, then I can almost be sure that iQoo will be offering you a choice in whatever price segment you want. And, it will be a choice that will be absolutely fantastic, best-in-class, and backed by whatever iQoo and Vivo promise in terms of quality." he said.
"So, as you move towards the festive season, you'll have a very strong portfolio to choose from iQoo," Marya added.
iQoo portfolio breakdown
Next, we asked Nipun to break down the entire iQoo smartphone portfolio to understand the target audience, considering that almost all iQoo devices target performance-driven users.
Marya explained, "First, the DNA of iQoo is the highest level of performance, not just performance. A very well-rounded or excellent smartphone for your everyday use. So, that's our DNA. Of course, the Z-series targets students or people who just cracked their first jobs. The upcoming Z9s and Z9s Pro are the best fit for this target audience. We believe multitasking is also passe now; for them, it is mega-tasking. And, when these people are mega-taskers, they really require a phone that can offer superlative performance - camera, design, battery, and charging - you name it, and they want it. Because they are mega-taskers, and that pretty much defines our Z-series phones."
Next up, the Neo-series is a lot more focused on performance and esports, as per Marya. "Neo again is a strong daily driver if you're looking for a phone that can give you an exceptional esports experience as good as a flagship-level device without the user spending flagship-grade money."
Followed by the Z and Neo is the flagship range, the numbered series, which has the best of iQoo and not just the brand but the best smartphone technology available, Marya stressed. For example, the iQoo 12 was the first phone in India to sport a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.
iQoo on AI
AI (short for artificial intelligence) has become a hot word of every tech launch lately, and smartphone brands are not leaving any stone unturned to tap this opportunity. From a brand perspective, we wanted to understand iQoo's take on AI. Nipun started explaining, "I feel that AI is very promising and has a long future ahead. So far, AI use cases have been in use for some time, but they are now coming to the fore - that's the first thing I feel."
iQoo Z9s series will include two phones
He added, "If you see, AI was there in our phones earlier, and hence, you could do so many things that the camera and album app could do. Like scene, object, and face detection - similarly, so many of such features were possible because of AI. But I will add that AI was in the background. For iQoo, AI is at the centre of whatever we are doing, and we are looking at use cases of AI not just in cameras but also in esports, performance, battery charging, and more. So, it will be a very holistic experience of AI in iQoo devices," he explained.
Further, Nipun confirmed that in the upcoming Z9s smartphones, there will be some AI features right out of the box.
Stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for the upcoming iQoo Z9s series launch later this month.
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